October 2007, Volume 18, Issue 4
Is East-Central Europe Backsliding? Economic Woes and Political Disaffection
Under the pressure of compliance with the Maastricht convergence criteria governments implement painful welfare state reforms.
Articles
October 2007, Volume 18, Issue 4
Is East-Central Europe Backsliding? Nightmares From the Past, Dreams of the Future
Having suffered under both of the twentieth century's most brutal brands of dictatorship—fascism and communism—the CEE peoples have been dreaming of a new and better future, the future of the European Union and the Euro-Atlantic community.
October 2007, Volume 18, Issue 4
Is East-Central Europe Backsliding? The Strange Death of the Liberal Consensus
The paradox of East-Central Europe is that the rise of populism is an outcome not of the failures but of the successes of postcommunist liberalism. *This is a corrected text of the print and original online version of this essay, which lacked proper citation for some of its sources. This is the only version that…
October 2007, Volume 18, Issue 4
Iran’s Resilient Civil Society: The Untold Story of the Fight for Human Rights
Observers who focus too much on elections have failed to grasp the maturation of Iranian civil society, even as hard-liners have come to dominate the government.
October 2007, Volume 18, Issue 4
Iran’s Resilient Civil Society: The Student Movement’s Struggle
They are good signs for the future of democracy in Iran, but it will take time and energy to organize these promising pieces into a greater democracy movement.
October 2007, Volume 18, Issue 4
Nigeria’s Muddled Elections
The failure of the elections has been partly mitigated by the hope of judicial review of electoral malfeasance, the stabilizing ingenuity of ethno-regional power-sharing, and renewed national discussions of electoral reforms.
October 2007, Volume 18, Issue 4
A Quarter-Century of Promoting Democracy
On 7 June 2007, the National Endowment for Democracy commemorated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the "Westminster Address" with a panel discussion and reception in Madison Hall at the Library of Congress.
October 2007, Volume 18, Issue 4
Latin America’s Indigenous Peoples
Where indigenous peoples constitute a smaller share of the electorate, their recent inclusion denotes a more generalized opening of the political system to excluded and vulnerable sectors of society.
October 2007, Volume 18, Issue 4
Understanding Democracy: Data from Unlikely Places
Some skeptics have asked whether ordinary people possess an understanding of democracy that allows them to evaluate it as a form of government. Our research yields three generalizations about popular understanding of democracy.
October 2007, Volume 18, Issue 4
The Quest for Self-Rule in Tibet
This article assesses the historical record and current practice to argue that a form of autonomy that is appropriately grounded in China’s Constitution and international human rights practice may offer a path out of the current dispute.
October 2007, Volume 18, Issue 4
China’s Would-Be Citizens
A review of Inside Iraq's Confessional Politics by Junning Liu.
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
Exchange: The Sequencing “Fallacy”
Countries taking the initial steps from dictatorship toward electoral politics are especially prone to civil and international war. Yet states endowed with coherent institutions—such as a functioning bureaucracy and the elements needed to construct a sound legal system—have often been able to democratize peacefully and successfully. Consequently, whenever possible, efforts to promote democracy should try…
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
Exchange: Liberalism versus State-Building
In certain circumstances, both liberalism and popular rule can obstruct rather than promote state-building.
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
Exchange: The Vain Hope for “Correct” Timing
The history of many of today’s established democracies shows that “out-of-sequence” democratization can lead to eventual success.
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
Exchange: Misunderstanding Gradualism
Unlike pessimistic scholars and recalcitrant autocrats, most ordinary citizens are inclined to take the risks of choosing democracy when they can.
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
Personalizing Power in Uganda
For more than two decades, President Yoweri Museveni has been building an authoritarian regime that answers closely to his personal will.
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
When Will the Chinese People Be Free?
Rising levels of wealth and schooling make it highly likely that China will be a "Partly Free" country by 2015 and a "Free" one ten years after that.
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
How Will China Democratize?
No one should underrate the will and skill that the ruling Chinese Communist Party will put into keeping its grip on power.
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
China’s Long March to Freedom
China is gradually changing. In the coming years, the pursuit of individual dignity and human rights will increasingly come to the fore.
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
The Democracy Barometers (Part I)
The Editors’ introduction to the first of two clusters on “The Democracy Barometers.”